Larry Fitzgerald has decided to retire after this season, according to a report Sunday morning by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network,
For months, Fitzgerald has fielded questions about whether this would be his final season. The 33-year-old, a nine-time Pro Bowler, is entering the final year of his contract. He has consistently brushed aside such questions, although he did hint this spring that he would definitely not return if quarterback Carson Palmer retired.
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"A lot of it's tied to Carson (Palmer) — Carson's playing at a high level," he said in an interview on KMVP FM. "I don't want to go through any other quarterback situations. It's been great to have the stability that we have now with the big fella, he's been playing light's out."
Fitzgerald enters the season with 1,018 career receptions for 13,366 yards and 98 touchdowns. After several below-average seasons — by his lofty standards — he bounced back big last season, catching 109 passes for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns.
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Still, it's been a tragic offseason for Fitzgerald. His longtime agent, Eugene Parker, died of cancer in March. Then, his former coach, Dennis Green, died July 21 of cardiac arrest. A teenage Fitzgerald worked as a ball boy with the Vikings when Green coached there, and Green drafted Fitzgerald third overall for the Cardinals in 2004.
Now, the debate turns to whether Fitzgerald makes the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The obvious answer seems to be yes. For the most recent benchmark, Marvin Harrison entered the hall this year with statistics (1,102 catches, 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns) similar to Fitzgerald's.